The Sanctuary
by blake8
Summary: This story is about how Kylo/Ben Solo and Rey could develop a relationship despite their differences. What would it take to rebuild their trust? I'm no Star Wars expert but I love the drama of the bond they share.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

This first thing that Rey heard was the sound of water crashing against the rocks, but that couldn't be. She was barely awake but already she felt her internal warning signs ringing: Her jaw clenched and her tendons were tight. Am I alone? She thought, and listened keenly.

There was no sound aside from the water. Which was very difficult to understand because her last memories were of Chariansta, a ball of rock and sand where water could be discovered only when you burrowed ten feet down. She decided to open her eyes slowly.

A airy, spacious room slowly swam into view. It was early-mid morning, judging from the light. Said light came a few yards from where her feet lay. Without moving, Rey could judge that she was lying on some sort of… couch? There was some sort of pillow lying behind her head. Her eyes adjusted further. The floor of the room was smoothed stone and despite the airiness she was not cold.

"Come on Rey." She whispered. She put both hands flat on the couch and pushed up slowly, aware that every sound she made. She sat up and blinked. There wasn't a lot of furniture on this room. It wasn't cosy at all, it had different feel to it. Still taking it slow, she found her feet. Now she was upright, she could really smell the sea now, not just hear it. She was alone. She walked toward the sea-sound.

Out in the stronger light she could see that the stone flooring was very precisely laid, in a range of patterns. She wanted to stare at it more closely, and decided that she had better pay more attention to her surroundings first before getting too absorbed in it. The flooring extended out of the room she had been in, and until she had reached the edge she didn't realise how far up she was. The beach was about 7 yards below this platform. All around her was the water.

Small jolts of adrenaline moved through her. Moving at some speed, she followed the stone deck around the edge of the room she had been in. The island extended further in the opposite direction, but past a small grove of trees, she could see only a horizon line of water. Looking back the way she had come, the buildings did not appear to her to be… normal. The rooftops had were painted with a pale gold paint, and all along the tops of the walls were painted a series of symbols. The decking ended, so she ran back the way she had come.

When she did so, she noticed something she had not noticed before.

There was a large stone sculpture on an extended piece of the stone deck. It was made of a pale-ish marble and as Rey approached it she noticed a sort of gleam to it. As though it stood out from it's surroundings somehow. It looked very tactile to her and she almost touched it before a voice startled her.

"Did you sleep well?"

Rey froze, with her fingertips outstretched to the stone. Then she pulled her hand back and turned to face the voice.

It was a humanoid figure, standing on the other side of the pool. He was not armed and he did not strike her as being military. He was wearing a robe of a plain material.

"I, I don't remember. I must have been drugged, Rey said, the words forming and leaving her mouth without calculation. "Did you?…"

"Drug you?" the figure, a man perhaps barked out a laugh. "Why in this world would I do that?"

"I don't know!" Rey snapped back almost in a rage. Nothing was making sense, at all.

A look which could have been sympathy crossed the man's face.

"I'm sorry. This isn't your fault. You should know that it's not mine either."

Rey passed a hand across her brow. During the time she had spent awake the temperature on this little island had increased and her bewildered thoughts had not helped to cool her down. Another voice was speaking to her.

"Hello?" this voice sounded more mellow, calmer.

"My name is Telios. This is my partner Jannesse. He is sorry to have added to your confusion."

Rey looked. A second man figure had appeared looking slightly taller than his companion. He was smiling at her with some warmth in his eyes.

"I, I'm Rey."

"Welcome to the Sierve Sanctuary." Telios said. "It gets hot here and you'll need some fluids."

Rey nodded after a moment. In her brief exploration she had spotted no crafts, space-going or otherwise on the island. If she was to escape, she would need answers. She walked over the intricate stone deck towards the two strangers.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

A small alarm set to a timer on Kylo's wrist beeped in the darkness. He had been lying there in the darkness for what felt like hours. He had been willing the Force to re-establish his connection, but the drug did exactly what the top Federation bio-chemist had promised that it would. Complete unconsciousness. Kylo had asked for the best and had gotten it. He sat up in the dark and brushed his damp hair out of his eyes. The concentration had caused him to break out in a sweat.

He then reached out to flip on the small screen beside his bed. The pale light reflected in his dark eyes as he stared at the image it projected. He did not blink as rey began stirring on the couch he had laid her on. She pushed herself upright slowly and looked around the room, her every gesture telling him that her body was on high alert.

"Give it time Rey." He whispered. He pictured her exploring the island and gradually losing the fear that gripped her. He told himself that he thought she would like it. On the planet where it was situated, the island had had a long history of therapeutic practice. It was managed and run by two guardians who had been trained in healing They worshipped a deity that valued submission over confrontation

He smiled a little then, in the dark. Rey had gotten up by that point and had walked out of the view of his camera.

Kylo rolled onto his back, still smiling. Soon, it would begin again.

Every since Rey had escaped capture on the ice-planet with the other rebels, she had grown even stronger in the force. It had no doubt been due to Luke's influence but now that he had gone Kylo suspected that his mother (though untrained) could still have been responsible for the way in which Rey had been becoming so successful in blocking him. The recent memory of it alone caused his his body to tense a little.

He did not want to take away her liberty, but she was a hazard to herself. Not to mention the fact that the rebels might see some hope in her, the last Jedi. All it would do was result in more death and it would do little to slow the growth of his empire. None of it was worth building up her hatred of the dark side. This was in desperate need of a remedy: she should be proud to know him, proud of the efforts he had taken to ensure her safety. The safety of the last Jedi.

Kylo brushed his hands through his hair and imagined everything going along the way he had planned. It had been his one comforting thought regarding Rey, throughout this whole period since the ice-planet. He imagined her reflecting on her actions on that island. He imagined her going through her options over the time that followed. And yes, he could imagine that slowly she would grow a little desperate for information about the greater events in the galaxy. And in that moment she would have to admit to herself that she did, in fact, have an option of getting that information. The same option that she had always had. Only this time time she might have the motivation to take it a bit more seriously, to take him more seriously.

It would take some time. Although knew that he had to get up and deal with a lot of the business of being Supreme leader that had, embarrassingly, been put off he allowed himself two more visions before he rose.

The first was when the tranquilliser dart had struck Rey's neck as she was scouting through the rocks on Chariansta. All the planning and preparation it had taken, just to watch that dart strike true and to see her legs weaken beneath her. Although he had thought he might resist going to her side as soon as she'd succumbed to the dart, there had been no hope of that as he was watching it happen. The team he had bought with him took care of any dangers resulting from his haste. He had picked her up from the ground, took the dart from her neck and brushed the sand from her hair. It had taken a few reminders from his lieutenants before he could gather himself and walk back to the ship. He remembered the feel of the weight of her in his arms. It had been dead weight. Part of him had wanted her to move against him to be _aware_ but to simply have her there with him after all of that time separate was a consolation. He had allowed the bio-scientist who had custom designed the tranquilliser to inspect her body and that had been difficult enough.

Reluctantly, Kylo sat up. He had to get up. His next vision was the one which would get him through his day.

His second vision look like this: Rey was standing by his side. It reminded him of that brief moment before she had spoken those words that had splintered all of his hopes. But in Kylo's vision she wore black like him and she had turned her head, she was looking at him with such… trust, and more that that. He felt her fingers clasping around his own. He felt the force flowing through those touching fingertips.

Smiling Kylo finally got up. He knew of a certain bio-scientist who would be very happy that Rey had awoken without lasting side-effects. Today would be a good day.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Twenty-Three

It was all the Kylo could do to stop himself disintegrating into a pure frenzy. He knew distantly that he was setting the pace and it was too fast but every inch of him wanted her and it was as consuming as a blood lust. She way she tasted and smelled, the way her body reacted to his every touch, the way it felt to be inside her. He could not decide where to put his hands. He could not decide what to do with his mouth. In the middle of this confusion, Rey suddenly tilted her body weight. Timed with one of Kylo's forward thrusts, it put his torso to one side and now, abruptly, Rey was on top of him. She placed her small hands against his sternum, her face like a thundercloud. She eased herself back, so that her vulva was pressed onto his pubic bone and Kylo cried out his longing for her without words.

With her knees spread wide, Rey began moving back and forth with tiny motions. Kylo's hands clasped at her thighs and her breasts began to shudder with his aching thrusts upwards, into her.

Her face, her face was flushed and her mouth was open. As he began to quicken his movements she told him to stay with her, that he had to let go, that she would protect him, a litany of senseless things that somehow made sense and she kept holding onto him as waves of pleasure rolled onto him and threatened to sweep him away.

"I'm sorry Rey. I'm sorry." He whispered, as he moved deeper and deeper into her. Pictures came to his head of his mother, his father, his burning malicious ambition that would never die. He saw all of this and he could see that Rey saw it too. She leaned down over him and held his head still, her eyes wide with pleasure or pain?

"You can let it go. You can."

As he began to reach the edge of what his body to still tolerate and survive, he became aware of the warmth growing at his back, and strange beaming sensation that appeared to be shining upwards. He felt everything he had lifting up toward Rey. He felt light, he felt like he was floating. All except one tiny part that was still stuck to the his history, stuck to his soul.

That was a part that said: " _you are nothing without power. If you let go you will have nothing_."

The thought was there in his mind, but then the screaming demands from his body let Kylo know that he had reached the limits of his pleasure. He felt Rey's hands grip into his collarbones and felt her thrusting deep inside of him and all it did was decimate his own self control. He was vaguely aware of his hands gripping Rey's hips tight enough to bruise them and he pushed or perhaps was pulled straight up into a blue, burning sky, into oblivion.

Rey was simultaneously a slave to every physical sensation as it happened to her, but at the same time her mind was with Kylo's. She saw his consciousness come closer to her and then draw back. She tried to catch every emotion as it passed through him but then her own spiking, relentless pleasure prevented her from seeing every detail. She wanted to scream into the skies, she wanted to watch every muscle in him flexed and aching with desire. She tried to tell him to follow her, to let go of whatever it was that was drawing him away, but her own monstrous and ultimate pleasure was coming closer to her and it would not be ignored.

He was staring up at her, right into her face with eyes like black stars and the face of warrior when he thrust upwards in a series of quick movements and looking at him like that brought on her own monster and she became possessed by it. She fell forward and in a last ditch effort attempted to claw her way into him, crying his name into his neck before her vision filled with stars.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Kylo had spent his day not abusing his underlings, not micro-managing his senior officers and not snapping at Hux. Kylo observed his second in-command exchanging a surprised look with another General over the board-room table at that afternoon's meeting. He had resisted an urge to comment on it.

After that last meeting Kylo went to his session with the Storm-Trooper elite. He was in the process of training up a new personal guard and all in all, despite a few broken bones the new recruits were holding up under the beatings. As pleasurable as all that was he still counted down the hours til he was alone with Rey again.

As soon as he had closed the doorway to his chambers he stripped off his training outfit down to his briefs and lay down on his bed. He checked the time and saw that although it was still early, it might be worth checking in with his camera. After the day she had had there was a chance she might be alone.

Kylo opened the connection in the dark of his chambers, the light spilled out over his face and torso as the vision of Rey'v chambers came into view. His luck continued, he could see. One of the guardians led Rey into the room and got her some blankets as she sat down. Kylo smiled, thinking again of how well he had chosen these shy and retiring men. After seeing that Rey was comfortable, the man left her alone in her chamber.

Rey was alone, but awake. She looked a little fragile to him, as though she might need someone to comfort her.

Kylo tapped his fingers against his thigh.

"It is too soon." He said in a low voice.

When it came to Rey it was almost as though there were two version of himself. There was his calm, calculating self, the Kylo he had built up carefully, the Kylo that contained all of those qualities that he most admired. And then, when Rey came into the picture, there was the other Kylo. A vulnerable man, a man prone to quick fits of emotion, a desirous man, a man who was prepared to do most any thing that would do almost anything to convince her that the dark path was the correct one.

He sat up almost without meaning to, closed his eyes and cleared his mind. The opportunity for connection came to him easily, as it usually did when Reyvi was alone and quiet. The most easy thing in the world. All that was needed was for her to pick up her end of the connection.

He opened his eyes. The room that had come to him through his monitor swam into view. He was sitting across from her. She noticed him straightaway. He opened his mouth slightly to speak. With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, she broke the connection.

Kylo was back in his chamber, alone. A great gush of rage ran through the length of him like an electric current. He jumped to his feet and flung out his arm. The common little scavenger girl was denying him? His light sabre flew to his fingers without a pause and he flicked it on, preparing to wreak destruction on everything in his surroundings. Then he happened to glance back down to the screen in front of him,

Rey was lying back on the couch and now instead of scowling at his memory, tears were running down each side of her face. She was outright sobbing…. But why?

Kylo flicked off his sabre but stood there staring down at the screen for a long time, his muscles tensed, yet unmoving. He stood there was a long time, the light playing across his features. Then he slowly sat down, put the sabre on the floor and lay in his bed. He glanced over and saw that Rey appeared to be sleeping. He flicked off the monitor. In the darkness, his eyes stayed open for a long time, staring into nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

On the second day everyone must have been talked out, as their interactions were minimal. Rey spent most of the day worrying about Chewie and Finn and Leia and all it did was exhaust her nerves.

On the second evening she had fallen asleep and dreamed that her and Kylo were communing through the force. It had been so convincing to her that she could almost feel the calluses on his palm as their hands touched. That had been what had had woken her. She had tossed and turned on her couch but sleep was beyond her. So she had gotten up. It had not been the sounds that had awoken her.

She had stepped outside, barefoot on the stone flooring. She had turned to towards the pond and the strange stone monument. Then she stepped back quickly to hide behind one of the pillars. Although she did doubt whether the pair would've noticed if she hadn't.

It was Telios and Jannesse of course. But they weren't eating or talking. Telios had his back pressed against the stone monument and he was whispering something to Janesse who was pressed up close to him. Janesse was looking at Telios as though there was nothing else in the world. Rey couldn't see their lower halves. Their top halves were naked. Jannesse had his hand on the back of Telios' neck. He pulled Telios' face toward his open mouth and kissed him, deeply.

Rey felt suddenly ashamed to witness her hosts in this moment, and felt the blood rushing to her face. Imagine if they looked over at her and saw her staring like a pervert. She ducked her head and went back to her quarters.

She lay back down on her couch feeling even more restless. She wanted to do something, anything but just lie there but there was nothing to be done. Kylo's face appeared to her. She remembered, back when their control over their connection was weaker, that moment when she had caught him shirtless in training. He had been as sweaty in that moment as Telios and Jannesse were right now. In an instant she could feel Kylo's hips between her legs and she could see her hands pressing down against his chest. She could see his face lifted back and contorted in pleasure.

"No." She told herself firmly. "No." She got up and quietly put some water on her face from a large bowl in the corner and tried to centre herself.

What if her thoughts woke him? He had kidnapped her. He had taken her freedom. Keeping her mind on that thought was what eventually caused her to calm down. She put herself back to bed. Kylo was the enemy. All of her thoughts needed to be directed at defeating him and to do that meant escape. Not surrender.

Over the next two weeks, Rey didn't feel like facing her hosts, so instead she decided to explore the island and train herself as best she knew how. She was careful nowadays not to walk around and night and so consequently did not witness anything untoward concerning her hosts. They would meet up normally for lunch and then a meal in the evening. They were good company that Rey just wasn't in the correct mind frame to appreciate.

Rey did appreciate the cool air temperature. It was just right in the morning and the never-ceasing waves reminded her of Luke's island. How much would she have given to be there? She would run faster on her morning's circuit as those unwelcome thoughts came upon her. On that day she had almost circumnavigated the island when she came to the small grove of trees she had spotted on that first day. She almost didn't see Talios and Jannesse until she was on top of them. They were standing with such stillness amongst the trees.

She stopped running. Something seemed different about them, Jannesse in particular. He was standing tall with an almost royal bearing.

"Rey. We want to say a few things. " Telios announced.

Rey nodded and waited.

"First thing being- we believe you. Everything that you've said." Secondly, we don't think that you've given us the whole story. We think that there's more to it."

Rey nodded. She felt that she hadn't made a correct judgment of these two, on first glance.

"Also, you need to know that Telios and I are both healers. We are adept at it and not just physically. We can help in other ways too. We can fix things."

"So we need to apologise for our behaviour these past couple of weeks. We have never met a Jedi before and this is not how we usually present ourselves. You have come to us with a dilemma. You're sick with feeling. We can help. And since all of our other patients have been taken away, you have our undivided attention."

Rey felt her chin press itself into her lower lip but then forced it back down.

"Healers. I'm glad to meet you."

Telios indicated a few largish rocks.

"Lets sit down."

They all did, and once they were comfortable, Rey told them the full story:

"Sometimes when you are gifted with the force, you can be bonded with another who shares the force."

"What does that mean?"

"In my case, it means that sometimes, if we both allow it, Kylo Ren and I can communicate as clearly as the three of us are right now, no matter how far apart from each other we are."

Rey was quiet after making that statement. Telling the two healers after admitting her identity as a Jedi, something which was as fanciful as a fairy tale to them yesterday, meant that today's confession might make them turn away in complete disbelief.

But it didn't. The pair looked at each other and communicated without words for a moment.

"We believe that there must be a reason for this."

"You're probably right." Rey laughed without a trace of humour.

"I understand now why Kylo has trapped you here. You are a big risk to him."

Rey nodded.

"Still, Telios continued. "Why aren't you dead?"

Rey exhaled.

"I don't know exactly. My theory is that, maybe if we combined forces it would make his army stronger. It's hard to explain, but if I joined him he would have someone to help him defeat the rebels for good- that is if I agreed to follow his training and eventually became a Sith, like he wants me to be. Where there is a master there must be a student."

Jannesse had his tilted to one side as though he was trying to suck all of her words out of the air to his ears. Rey had never seen anyone listen so intently.

"So, his idea of winning the argument is to sequester you away on this island and then you will one day grow tired of the confinement and go along with what he wants?"

"I hadn't actually gotten that far, but what you said sounds legitimate."

"From what I've seen he doesn't seem to be all that patient."

Rey let her head drop into her hands.

"You're right. I think that Kylo believes he can outlast me but he isn't a person who can wait around. He'll come back, probably sooner rather than later and when I give him an answer that he doesn't like…"

Telios snorted. "He will not be pleased with it. And in that circumstance I think that we may also be on his list of people he is not pleased with….what I would give to have everything just go back to the way it was."

Jannesse reached out and put a hand on Telios's shoulder.

"Look at the pair of you. What sort of perspective is this? Do you not see the opportunity?"

Jannesse turned his piercing eyes to Rey.

"What it the outcome you would like out of this situation?"

"I would like the chance to get off this island and get back to my friends. I'd like to do that without getting the two of you into any more trouble."

"Well we'll need to get to work then!"

With a look of contempt, Jannesse passed by both of them and walked purposefully back up to the temple.

Telios and Rey glanced at each other and shrugged with bewilderment. But they did not hesitate to follow.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Kylo strode through the blue dust on this planet of mist with his rapidly decreasing corps of elite Stormtroopers. Quite a few were not holding up under the pressure. Especially in this terrain. There were mysterious flying reptiles on this planet, famed for their wingspan and accuracy at lethal dive-bombing. If any of the troopers survived this blue hell then they would be excellently placed for the planned invasion of the rebels latest-known hideout. But this was not the destination that pressed itself repeatedly against Kylo's mind.

Kylo activated his sabre and shouted for his troopers, invisible in the mist.

"A bird is approaching! At the ready!"

The distant screeches of the flying reptiles came from a way above their heads, but Kylo knew that they fell at five times the speed of gravity, on this planet. He held his sabre high above his head. With thunderous volume the screeches reached head-height. Kylo swung without hesitation. A splash of watery liquid and lumps of internal organs dashed across his body as the felled reptile screeched its last and slammed into the ground a few paces away; dead in an instant. Kylo wiped off the filth off his face and neck in an absolute fury. At the dead reptiles side in an instant he saw red and sliced the great beasts wings and body until the thing resembled a pile of mush.

"Sir.." A small voice said at his elbow. He ignored it.

"Erm.. Supreme leader?"

"What?" Kylo said, swinging around quickly to face the distraction.

"Um, I regret to inform you that there has ben some severe casualties in this past hour alone. The offices have unanimously decided against the idea of setting up camp on this planet, and state an immediate preference to depart for the cruiser."

"Why is everyone such unmitigated cowards?" Kylo hissed.

The officer who had been brave enough to speak when Kylo wasn't facing him, suddenly lost his tongue.

Kylo held up his hands.

"Fine. If it pleases my officers to retreat to comfort and safety and…. Failure, then excellent. Consider it approved."

In the back of his mind, Kylo knew that he had been pressing his troopers too hard, even for his exacting standards. The last two planets they had visited for 'training' were listed as unsafe for civilised life and visiting them had resulted in multiple deaths. But the fierce joy of killing some seriously dangerous beasts had been infinitely preferable to going back to his isolates quarters where he felt… restless.

He caught the transport ship to the cruiser with the troopers, some moaning with the pain of their injuries, and some of them not making a sound at all.

He walked to his quarters, and as trained his personal assistant came quickly to his side for the evenings orders.

"I want my personal transport prepared for departure as soon as possible."

"Sir, your transport is back on the destroyer. I can send for it right away, but it will most likely take 8 hours or so to arrive."

Kylo came up short, reminded himself to breathe. Of course it was there.

"Alright. Send for it anyway. And also, I want every doctor and every drug provided to my wounded troopers. Every one of them kept alive earns a bonus for the medical team."

"I will relay that now." The assistant said. "Before I go sir, there is a message we interceptive that you might find of interest. I have passed it onto your device."

Kylo nodded and waved the assistant away. He walked into his quarters and stripped off as he made his way to his hygiene unit. Stepping inside, he made the cleansing fluid extra hot. He needed a distraction. He lifted his face to take the full flow of the liquid and shook it from his hair.

The truth was, despite all of these activities that normally brought him joy, his mind was not on the job. The power he had received after slaughtering Snoke had made him feel like a Master, in almost every sense, but for one, of course. Until he had forced Rey to listen to reopen her connection with him he couldn't be satisfied. Unless he was making progress to convince that little insignificant scavenger girl that she needed to follow his path to the dark side, then he felt as though there was no true mastery for him at all. Kylo elbowed the wall of the hygiene unit in anger. Every achievement he made felt as though it was undercut by this one tiny loose end.

As his blood trickled down the drain, he resolved that the time for waiting was over. He was going to do something about all of this.

Stepping out of the unit, he was about to simply fall onto his bed and sleep, but something told him to look at the message the assistant had sent him. After he had viewed it he was very happy that he took the time.

There was always a solution…. if you looked hard enough.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Rey was sitting on the warm stone floor and waited while Telios went to get some iced drinks. She knew that she was staring at Jannesse in a slightly bug-eyed fashion, but she couldn't have stopped that if she had tried. Instead of asking all of the questions she truly wanted to ask, she said:

"Why are we sitting out here in the heat?" she asked.

"We suspect that our quarters and the temple may have been bugged. When Kylo showed up he and his men were in there for a while."

Rey looked at his soberly. This, she hadn't considered.

"So, the question is… when will he next make contact?" Jannesse asked.

Reyvi opened her mouth to try and speak, and managed to do so on the second try.

"From what I know, I think that when I broke the connection last time I must have…."

"Pissed him off?"

"Yes. He used to check in of an evening every couple of days- not always to try and communicate but just to let me know that he was there. He hasn't done that for two weeks now. I know that you would like a precise answer but I can't predict what he chooses to do."

"Im trying to judge how much time we have."

"I know you are… Jannesse, you just have to know that however logical your plan is to you and Telios I have no experience of what you're saying that I could do. Also, don't forget that he has a connection to my thoughts. There are times when I think that he is able to literally read my mind."

Jannesse shrugged. The light struck his brow, and touched the muscles set in his jaw.

"If he has restrained himself for this amount of time he must be readying himself for reinitiating contact. Soon."

Telios reappeared with the drinks and set them down. A cool breeze thankfully picked up off the sea around them.

"I can see, Telios said as he sat down. "How preposterous this all seems to someone who isn't trained in the practice. I feel that I need to fill in the gaps here. Let me tell you a little of Jannesse's history."

Jannesse nodded his assent.

"Before he joined our order, Janesse used to be a top-ranking officer in his division. And by that I mean, anyone who needed to be seduced and manipulated became seduced and manipulated: thereafter they did as they were told."

Rey shook her head a little. This had been explained to her on a basic level but she still couldn't believe it entirely. This sort of thing had not existed on Jakku, at all.

"Do you know how our little planet has survived all these years of conflict with the Federation and the rebels, and whatever this new thing is? It is because of people like Jannesse."

Rey could not let that sit.

"If that's true I have never heard of it. And it definitely sounds like something that would have been mentioned at some of the bars I've been into."

Janesse sighed.

"It's not something we go on about to every nation at large. A big part of what we do is about discretion: what remains unsaid."

Jannesee turned his blue eyes back to her

"You need to remember that this 'force' that you possess is just that: 'force'. To me, all of your training has been about controlling or directing the force. What we do is….subtle. To get what you want, you need to understand what others think they want from you and then you discover what it is they truly want. Which is precisely why in your particular case my training will work. Trust me, my darling. It will work."

Reyvi looked deep into his eyes. This scared her, chilled her to the bone though she was sitting in full sunlight.

"Where I'm from it doesn't work that way. Whenever those who have a little power try to manipulate those who have a lot, they end up with nothing. And once you've lost it all you can't come back from that."

"Oh, hey." Telios moved over and sat by her and rubbed her shoulders. Jannesse did not have as much sympathy.

"See that, right there. That genuine emotion has got to go. That is the first lesson."

"Can we start a little slower?" Telios complained, staring his partner down. Janesse refused to back down.

"Honestly, no. Not if the time we have is so little, Rey."

Jannesse reached over and took her hand lightly. "Stand up." He said in a firm yet upbeat tone. He placed one hand lightly around her waist, then quickly with his left foot he arranged her own feet to match his stance. Rey was a little shocked at his speed of movement but did not complain.

"Here." He took her right hand in his left. Dancing stance, now it made sense.

From the short distance between them Rey was suddenly aware of a few different things. The scent of him close up versus far away was a lot different to when she was close to him. The contract of the light hand on her band made her very aware of the presence of him and the spaces between them. He had very blue eyes.

"Lean into me." He said in a low voice, and Rey felt like laughing in his face. Instead what happened was she stepped forward with him as he led her in a sort of swaying movement which turned into a style of dance which she had never tried but was now apparently _doing._

"Ummm you should know that I don't dance." Rey said as he twirled her around in a dance so effortless it felt like nothing at all.

"Quite. I can see that you are most definitely not dancing. Not dancing at all."

This comment that would ordinarily come off as pretentious in this context actually sounded quite funny. Rey even chortled a little. And then she allowed him to drop her into a dip. In his hands she felt as though she was a professional, as though he was the one safely in control. There was a sort of… energy coming of his body. Definitely not like the force but it was definitely something. Jannesse dipped her again, and then his expression changed. He stuck his tongue out at her cheekily.

The spell was broken.

Rey pushed away from him feeling her whole body prickling, as though her circulation was pumping through her body after being cut off.

"What was that?"

"That was the man in action." Telios said. Rey looked up at the sun in the sky and could have sworn that the sun had moved a bit since she had begun her dance with Jannesse. "I mean there was a little liquor in those drinks." Jannesse said, his eyelids batting with modesty.

"What are you talking about?" Rey said, still finding her feet. "That was some kind of mind control there!"

"No, Telios said. "You'll find that that was just the training taking affect."

"That couldn't have happened." Rey said. Her heart was pounding in her chest she felt sick, almost feeling herself dry-retch.

"No. That's something you can use against the Supreme Leader. If you have the confidence to use it properly."

Rey stopped her feet from moving. She stopped her body from moving. She dug down deep and stopped it all. From a cold and calculating position she could see what could be done for her, in her case.

"Can you train me?" She asked, clear and cold.

"Yes." Jannesse responded and his eyes were true as a lance.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Through various misadventures it took a week for Kylo to finally make it to the planet he had sequestered Rey on. He looked down at the surface of the small planet and meditated on it's smallness, his superiority over it.

Kylo had a loose theory that if he was closer in proximity to Rey, then perhaps it might result in her powers being less resistant to his. If this turned out not to be the case, he didn't know what his next move would be. But, as he had to keep reminding himself- he was the master now. She was waiting on his beck and call.

He told his ship's automatic systems to hold him in orbit and then he went to his private chambers.

He stood by the door and tried to clear his mind. He had to try.

He calmed his mind then projected himself.

He saw Rey. She was training on an outcrop of rock. She was running through her formations, but as soon as she noticed him, she stopped. She was slightly sweaty and a little out of breath. She smiled. Kylo felt whatever he had planned on saying disappear from his mouth. With sure feet she bounded from the rocks and came face to face with him.

"Kylo!" she said, without a hint of reluctance.

"Hello…" he replied, trying to keep all emotion out of his voice.

"It is… Good to see you. I'm glad you've come back."

"Why?" the question escaped Kylo's throat before he had intended it to.

"I have explored this whole island. You have really locked the entire place down."

Kylo nodded and waited for her to continue.

"You're my only connection to the outside world. I need to know what has been happening with the resistance."

That was… exactly what Kylo had wanted her to say. He could not help but frown slightly.

"You seem very well. Is this confinement agreeing with you?"

Rey screwed up her face.

"Of course I would prefer my freedom Kylo. I would honestly prefer to beat you right now, but I'm trying to be practical about this situation. Can you be convinced to let me go?"

"You know what I require for that to happen." Kylo said with a raised eyebrow. This was a different Rey. Kylo sensed that there might be a willingness to negotiate or bargain for what she wanted… whereas before there was only stubbornness. It interested him.

"Submitting to the dark side I suppose?" Rey said lightly, almost teasingly. "Maybe we could talk about something else instead. Would you like to come down to that beach perhaps?"

She pointed with her staff down at a small beach below them. He looked at her, trying to keep the naked curiosity out his face and feeling as though he was failing to do it. They were actually speaking to each other. Even if it was a complete ruse it was worth the conversation. He bade her to lead the way.

As she led the way down to the small white sand beach, Rey's mind was in a million places at once. She was using her Jedi skills to block Kylo's mind-reading and at the same time she was uncomfortably aware of the solidity of his projection, the way he towered over her with his muscular form. And last but not least she heard Jannesse's voice from only a day earlier, guiding her every action:

 _From what you've told us he wants to be persuaded that you can change. That is your vital advantage._

 _I can see that. But why can't I just tell him that I have had time to mull it over and I can now see that his perspective is the right one?_

 _Come on Rey. Even you should understand that that approach is too easy, he will see through it straight away. Your actions need to be 100 percent believable to him. Whatever ever you do, don't rush this. Never let him see you fumble. Never let him see that you're vulnerable. Unless that is what you want for him to see._

 _I'm so scared that I am going to screw this up._

 _Just remember- there is no normal for conversations between the pair of you. That is what you'll be setting up for this visit. Don't lose sight of that for your first encounter. You are the one in control._

She monitored her breathing. She followed Jannesse's advice and went through each of intended actions for when she arrived at the beach, just as though she was running through a script in her head. If they had worked it all out correctly, the outcome of Kylo's visit should be as set and as predictable as the waves breaking on the shore. As soon as she had taken a few steps onto the sand, she turned and faced him. His eyes were already on her, just as though they had been there for entire walk down to the beach. His eyes were black. She did not stare into his eyes, but instead positioned herself to the side of him. Jannesse told her that a direct confrontation needed to be saved for very rare occasions.

"So… why this island Kylo. Can I ask what made it seem like a good spot to hide a Jedi?"

Kylo's gaze went out to the horizon and pursed his lips. They seemed very pink for some reason, in his pale, freckled face. After a drawn out pause he said:

"This planet is fairly neutral. It isn't a Federation stronghold so I don't think that anyone coming to steal you away from me would think to search here. I picked this island because it has a reputation for… peacefulness. Healing. I thought that you could use that."

 _He said "steal you away from me". Make a note of that._ Jannesse commented, inside of her head.

 _So far so good._ Rey said to herself.

"Well, I don't know about whether or not I am calmer, but I do suppose that it's nicer being here than being locked up in a grim destroyer somewhere. So thanks for that."

He smiled a little bit at her expression of thanks. Rey was mildly shocked at he truth she had learned: no matter how twisted it was, he had actually done something that he thought was of benefit to her. This was another valuable fact to examine later. She braced herself to ask her next question. Jannesse had reminded her that to ask this question was probably pointless, but it had to be asked.

"Can you tell me any news of the rebel alliance? Any news of Finn, or Chewie, or Leia?"

Kylo's smile faded.

"I don't see how telling you anything to do with _that_ is going to be of value."

Jannesse had told her to expect that response.

She didn't say anything straight away she looked out at the ocean, and then turned and looked Kylo over as though inspecting him.

His brow raised in a query.

"It doesn't really matter whether or not you tell me what is going on with the Rebel alliance. I can't do anything with what you tell me, not here. You just don't have a good motivation to give up what you know. So my suggestion is- why don't we make a competition of it?"

He was scowling a bit, but Rey could tell by the way that he looked at her that he wanted to know more.

"You can't touch me, and I can't touch you, but we could still duel. It would be even better really- we could really go for it."

Kylo frowned, but Rey could tell by looking at the uplifted corner of his mouth that he was intrigued.

"Hold on a moment. What do I get if I win?"

"Name it." Rey responded, feeling bold.

"I can't decide right now."

"Ok. Well I'll agree to whatever it is, I mean, within reason."

Kylo nodded. "Alright. Give me a moment."

Kylo flickered out of view for a moment and then reappeared with a staff of his own.

"I'm ready. Best of three?" he said.

Rey brandished her staff with a smile.


End file.
